Goodbye to You
by Princess of Despair
Summary: Sometimes you say goodbye before you’re really ready to. Rocketshippy.
1. Jessie

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokémon and I do not own "Goodbye to You" … Michelle Branch owns that.

**Author Note:** Hi everyone! I know that Pokémon is not my usual thing to write for. Don't worry, I've not lost my mind. Anyone who reads my Invader Zim fanfics, I can feel them almost wondering what I'm doing. Well, I used to be into Rocketshipping and lately I've started reading those types of fanfics again and I just got into it again. This is going to be a songfic with the song "Goodbye to You" by Michelle Branch. If by some random chance of fate this site decides to take it off, you'll be able to find this fic at my deviantART account, the link on my profile. So, I'm done rambling… and I'll get on with the fic.

**Summary:** Sometimes you say goodbye before you're really ready to. Rocketshippy.

* * *

/_Of all the things I've believed in  
I just want to get it over with  
Tears form behind my eyes  
But I do not cry  
Counting the days that pass me by_/

Jessie took in a deep breath, thinking about what she was about to do. All she wanted to do was to get _it_ over with, why prolong the inevitable? She began to walk swiftly down the sidewalk, before pausing in front of a door. Behind that door sat a room full of people she'd never met before. They wouldn't care if she walked in or not. However, there was one person she knew would be sitting in that room waiting for her and she wasn't sure she could handle it. She shook her head at her stupidity and pushed the door open. She walked inside.

Her gaze swept across the room, searching for one person. When she saw him, tears immediately began to form in her eyes. She forced them back, she would not cry. No. It would only show how she really felt and she could not have that. Especially now. She glanced at her watch, just to see if she had enough time to take another breath before she was supposed to meet her partner. There were only a couple of minutes, so she decided she couldn't wait any longer. Enough days had passed. It was time to get it over.

/_I've been searching deep down in my soul  
Words that I'm hearing are starting to get old  
It feels like I'm starting all over again  
The last three years were just pretend  
__And I said,_/

Jessie walked up to the table, still trying to fight back her tears. She was afraid she would lose the war with them.

"Jessie. I'm glad you made it," her partner, James, said. He stood up to pull out a chair for her. She wanted to ignore the gesture but she slowly sat down anyway.

"I need to talk to you… and it's serious," she said. James' expression grew more serious, as he could sense she really wanted to be serious.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Jessie tried to look away but knew that doing that might make her seem unsure.

"You know, it's been a few months since we were fired from Team Rocket," she paused for a moment, "I feel like I need to leave."

"What?" James asked.

"I've really been thinking about it, James. What is left here for me? I just want to go out into the world and make a life for myself. The three years we've been together seem fake now, now that I think back about it. I need to start a new life. I just thought I should tell you before I just disappeared," Jessie said.

James sat there, obviously shocked. Jessie took the silence as disappointment and so she stood up, getting ready to leave.

"No! You can't leave! I thought there was something special between us?" James asked, feeling his voice betray the emotion he was trying to hide.

"I have to, James. This is it. Goodbye." Jessie said, turning away from the table. She left the building as fast as she could.

/_Goodbye to you  
Goodbye to everything that I knew  
You were the one I loved  
The one thing that I tried to hold on to  
The one thing that I tried to hold on to_/

After Jessie had gotten a few blocks away from the building, she began to slow her pace. Finally she paused, looking back in the direction of the building she'd left.

"There was something very special between us, James. You were and you are the one I love but to continue staying here would be wrong. I tried to hold on to you and I tried to forget that I always dreamed of having a bigger life. When were just part of Team Rocket, I thought it would be okay to love you. Now that we no longer have to live that life, I need to get out on my own." Jessie whispered, finally letting a few tears escape from her eyes.

/_I still get lost in your eyes  
And it seems that I can't live a day without you  
Closing my eyes and you chase my thoughts away  
To a place where I am blinded by the light  
But it's not right_/

Two weeks later, Jessie lay in bed, staring at a picture of James. She'd traveled quite a distance to stay with an old friend, since she didn't have much money of her own. Even though all she had was a picture, she got lost in the thoughts of them. Sometimes she would just try to imagine he was there with her. She closed her eyes, sitting the picture on the stand next to the bed.

"Just sleep," she muttered to herself, "you made your decision and now you just have to live with it."

/_And it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time  
I want what's yours and I want what's mine  
I want you  
But I'm not giving in this time_/

It was late in the morning when Jessie finally surfaced from sleep. Months had gone by. She had gotten a job and she was beginning to feel like she was going to be able to make something of her life. She rolled over, seeing the picture sitting next to the alarm clock. There were so many times she'd almost gathered everything and almost went searching for James. She decided it was stupid though, she'd made her choice. She was going to become successful and she was going to live her life. Lately, she'd been feeling the same strong feeling to go after James.

"No." she said, sitting up in bed. "I'm not going to give up already. He's probably already gone his own way, maybe even already found someone else to make him happy. I will not mess that up!"

She slowly slid out of bed, letting the thoughts of what she needed to do that day go through her mind, drowning out the other thoughts she had had just a few moments before.

/_And when the stars fall  
I will lie awake  
You're my shooting star_/

A year had gone by. Jessie lay outside on her deck, just staring at the stars in the sky. She had finally saved up enough money to get her own place, even though it was small, and she often would lay outside to look at the stars when she couldn't sleep. The more she stayed alone in the house, the more she couldn't sleep. She watched two stars falling, side-by-side, across the sky above her. She closed her eyes, wanting to wish but not knowing what to wish for. A sudden memory took over her mind.

"_See those falling stars?" a soft voice came from next to her. _

"_Yes, I do. So what?" she asked, not sure why it mattered._

"_Whenever you see a falling star, you're supposed to wish for something." James said._

"_That's stupid. A falling star can't grant my wishes," she said. James laughed softly._

"_Just do it. It's not going to kill you!" he replied. _

_Jessie closed her eyes, softly whispering, "I wish I could find true happiness."_

Jessie opened her eyes, watching the two stars about to fade from her sight.

"I wish I could find the only one who ever brought me true happiness," she whispered. She slowly pulled herself up off the deck. Suddenly she realized she had made a terrible mistake, a horrible decision. She stood, turning back to the back door of the house.

"I have to go find him, I have to let him know that I'm sorry for what I've done," she said, going back into the house.

* * *

**Author Note:** What have I done? I have just committed myself to a multi-chapter fic, I think. I shouldn't have done this… but I can't help it. I heard the song and this fic just popped into my head. I don't know if there's any chance that anyone will like this and I'm _really _hoping this isn't the exact idea someone else has gone with before because I hate taking other people's ideas. It might change as I go through more chapters. If anyone actually likes this, I might want to mention that I probably won't get another chapter out for weeks. College is _evil_! OH! And probably a couple more things I should mention, I know I didn't actually use any pokémon… but you have to understand, it's been _years _since I've really been into pokémon and I don't remember many of them. Perhaps in other chapter, I might add them. And the part with the "three years" thing up there, I know they've probably been in Team Rocket for many more than three years, I just went with that because of the song. So.. I'm ending this ridiculously long author note, please read and review if you wish. 


	2. James

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon or the song "Missing", which is by Evanescence.

**Author Note: **Yep, here's the second chapter. I guess using a different song kind of kills the title (since I was titling it after the song in the first chapter) but that's okay I guess. I wanted to make this second chapter a songfic also but I couldn't find a song. I happened to find this song and thought it might work. I wasn't really planning to make this chapter depressing or anything… but for some reason my mood changed. So I don't know how it'll end up. This chapter is going to be about James and how he goes on from the time Jessie leaves. The same goes as with the last chapter, if for some reason this fic gets taken off because of the songfic, it'll be on my deviantART account.

* * *

James sat at that table for a long time after Jessie left. He was still trying to understand what exactly had happened. _Why _had Jessie suddenly decided she wanted to run off and make a life of her own? He thought that things were going well, he thought that she was happy with him.

/_Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
Maybe someday you'll look up,  
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:  
"Isn't something missing?"_/

After what seemed like hours, James finally left the restaurant. He slowly made his way down the street, walking back towards the place he'd been staying. This was the place that he had planned to invite Jessie to stay with him at; the place he'd hoped would eventually end up being their home. He looked up, noticing clouds were beginning to form in the sky. He sighed softly, slowly his pace even more.

"Why does it matter if I ever go home? There will be nothing there for me." he whispered to himself.

As he continued to walk down the street, he wondered if Jessie would ever think about him again. He wondered if she would ever suddenly realize he wasn't there anymore. He shook his head slowly. If she wanted to stay with him, she would never have left.

/_You won't cry for my absence, I know -  
You forgot me long ago.  
Am I that unimportant...?  
Am I so insignificant...?  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?_/

James walked into the house, barely paying attention to anything. A couple of months had gone by since Jessie had left; he'd not heard anything from her. He'd not heard anything about her. He wondered if she was okay. He wondered if she ever had any thought about him.

"Where have you been?" James was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a voice.

"Oh. Meowth," James said, "it doesn't really matter where I've been."

Meowth rolled his eyes. "I'll just leave if you keep actin' like that."

"Fine. Everyone else leaves me." James said, walking toward the kitchen.

Meowth sighed softly, not saying anything else. He just walked away.

James walked into the kitchen, only turning on the light over the sink. He sighed softly, leaning against the sink. His house was so empty. Meowth was his only companion at that point in time and he was even rude to Meowth most of the time. James looked out the window, out into the darkness.

"I wonder if you are missing me like I miss you." He whispered softly.

/_Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't someone missing me?_/

"Why do you always look at that picture?" James nearly gasped, hearing someone say something to him. He looked up to see who was talking to him.

"What do you want?" he asked the man standing on the other side of his desk.

"Well, you're supposed to have this paperwork done by now. I was just wondering if you were actually going to do it." the man said, motioning to the papers scattered on the desk.

James sighed. "Yes, I'm sorry. I will get it done right away."

The man turned away and took a few steps toward the door before turning back to look at James. "You were doing just fine when you started here. Now suddenly all you do is daydream and get behind on your work. Who is that girl in that picture?"

"I know. I'm sorry," James began, "the girl in the picture? She was someone I knew a long time ago. I will not let myself be distracted anymore."

The man nodded slightly. "Okay. Go back to work then."

James waited until he heard the door click shut before he slumped against his chair a bit. He gathered the papers he was supposed to be working on and pushed them to the side of his desk. He picked up the picture he had sitting on the corner of his desk and held it up.

"It's been six months now, Jessie. I hope you're making your dreams come true. I'm here now, doing a job that I hate. I'm doing things that I never imagined myself doing, except maybe when I was younger. I really hope that you're happy. I wish I knew that you cared. I wish you knew that I cared. What does it matter now, you're gone and I'm here all alone. I guess that's how it has to be." James said softly, opening a desk drawer. He gently slipped the picture into the drawer and closed it. He turned to the papers he'd stacked to the side of his desk. He picked up a few pages and began to look them over.

/_Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
I know what you do to yourself,  
I breathe deep and cry out,  
"Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?"_/

"'Bout time ya got home," was the first thing James heard as he walked through the door into his home. He couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Yes, I'm home Meowth. I told you that sometimes I have to work late," he said.

"Fine, jus get me some food." Meowth demanded. James shook his head slowly and walked toward the kitchen. He glanced at the clock as he passed by.

"I can't believe it's already 7:30." he said more to himself than anything. He didn't realize how much work took up his time. Meowth hadn't followed him into the kitchen, so he took those few moments of peace to think for a few moments. Even though Meowth was always around when he got home, he still felt alone. It didn't help that lately Meowth had been talking about Jessie and wondering about how she was doing. He thought back for a moment, about what Meowth had said to him just a few nights before.

"_James, it's time ya forget 'bout Jessie and move on." Meowth stood back, not sure how James would take him saying that. James slowly looked over at Meowth._

"_I don't know what you're talking about Meowth. I'm never going to forget about her but she's not constantly taking up every thought in my mind." James said. _

_Meowth made a somewhat irritated noise. "C'mon James, it's been almost a year-"_

"_Eight months." James interrupted. Again Meowth made an irritated sound._

"_Eight months," Meowth corrected himself, "it's been eight months and it's 'bout time you found someone else." _

"_I'm still not seeing your point, Meowth. It's not like it even matters, right? She's probably got a good job and she's probably married by now," James almost couldn't stand that thought, "and she's probably not interested in anything I'm doing. I can't imagine that she's even missing me. If someone were to mention my name, she probably wouldn't even notice." James crossed his arms, trying to end the conversation at that point._

"_Fine, if that's how you want to see it." Meowth shrugged, not wanting to argue any longer._

James sighed, setting some food down. "Come on Meowth, I have the food for you."

/_And if I bleed, I'll bleed,  
Knowing you don't care.  
And if I sleep just to dream of you  
I'll wake without you there,  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't something..._/

_The scene was a terrible scene. How could so much blood come from any one human being? An explosion? An accident? It was hard to tell. He couldn't even tell, he couldn't remember. The blood just poured anyway. A glowing light, a soft voice. Slowly he wasn't feel the pain anymore. His life was slipping away. He looked up one last time, to see the one he loved. She was an angel, motioning him on, to come with her. To spend forever with her, with no more pain and no more suffering. Finally there would be nothing but happiness for him. He slowly let out his last remaining breath, letting go. _

A loud ringing sound tore James out of the dream he was having. He sat up, gasping for air. He realized his alarm was going off. He reached over and slapped the snooze button. "Shut up." he muttered. He looked down at his hands, just letting the vivid images of his dream go through his mind. He sighed.

"Why now? Why does this happen to me now?" he whispered into his hands.

"Ya better be gettin' up!" he heard Meowth calling from out in the hallway. It only took a second for James to remember he had a meeting that day and he didn't want to be late. He slowly pulled himself out of bed. He took a moment to look back down at the bed, where he'd just been sleeping.

"Why does she have to come back into my dreams now? It's been over a _year_! I'm happy with my life now, I don't need her back now. I don't need anything from her, especially her help. If I were to be dying, she wouldn't be there to save me. She's not missing me and I'm not missing her. That's exactly how it should be." he whispered, before he turned away to head to the bathroom.

Meowth watched James walk down the hall toward the bathroom. He shook his head. He'd heard James talking to himself in his bedroom.

"Oh yes, you're missing her," Meowth muttered to himself, "and I'm sure she's missing you too." With that, Meowth headed downstairs to find himself some food.

* * *

**Author Note:** Did that work out how I planned it? Of course not! Oh well. I think I'm happy with it, or at least mostly happy with it. I'm not sure. I hope it makes sense. I tried to tell how much time went by, so it wouldn't see as confusing. I don't think I really kept it going exactly with the song lyrics but I still think it goes. Anyway. Just read and review, tell me what you think. I'm already planning out the next chapter. I don't know if it'll be a songfic or not, just depends on if I find a song that will go along with my idea. And I also want to mention, I'm sorry that I can't type Meowth's speech like he would normally talk. If someone could explain to me how to exactly do that, then I'll try to fix it. Thanks. 


	3. Meeting

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokémon. I also do not own "Roulette" which is by System of a Down.

**Author Note: **Three chapters in three days? Go me! I left this chapter (much like the others) on a kind of cliffhanger. I _really _hope that I will get a chance to finish it by the end of this week. I hate cliffhangers and I know that leaving this chapter the way I did isn't nice. I even hate myself for it.. haha. Anyway. I used the song "Roulette" by System of a Down for this one. I'm not quite sure that it even fits but I think it does. Oh and the name of the place I make Jessie and James meet at, I just made it up. If there really is a place by that name, I didn't know it! There's definitely no place that I know of around here by that name. Anyhow. That's all for now, I think. Read and review if you wish.

* * *

James walked down the street slowly. He wasn't sure why he was going to meet a mysterious person who had left him a message but he figured it might be worth it. This person seemed very determined to see him.

_James walked through the door of his home, extremely tired. He wanted to get something to eat and then he wanted to go to bed. He didn't even care what time it was, work was hard that day._

"_Here's a message that was left for 'ya." James looked down at Meowth as he handed a piece of paper to him._

"_What is it?" James asked._

"_How should I know? All I know was it was left for 'ya." Meowth said. _

_James nodded, turning the paper over to read it. Written in neat handwriting was a simple message, saying: 'James, you probably don't remember me or you don't want to remember me but I want to meet you. If you're interested, meet me at the Sun Rise coffee shop, in one week at 1:30 PM.' _

_James thought for a moment. Who could possibly want to see him? Who would be coming to town that he wouldn't remember or didn't want to remember? He shrugged, laying the message down on the table next to him._

"_Are 'ya gonna go see who it is?" Meowth asked. _

_James shrugged, "I guess so. Since it's a public place, whoever it is must not want to harm me." _

James glanced up to see if he was close to his destination. He saw the sign just a few buildings down from him.

"Well, I'm almost there. I hope this goes well," he muttered to himself, quickening his pace just a bit.

Jessie stood outside the place she'd stayed for the night, looking around at the people who walked by her. She took a second to glance at the sky. The sky was a bright blue, no clouds in sight. A gentle breeze blew, making her feel comforted. She took in a breath to steady her nerves and then turned to walk down the street.

It had taken Jessie a while to find James. In all, it had taken her about six months to finally locate him. She had started with the house he'd been staying at when she left town, only to find that he'd moved out a long time ago. Then she had to search through all that she could find, just to see if he even still lived in town. She had found out that he was working at some company and through that company she'd found where he lived.

The next problem was to figure out what to say, just so she wouldn't reveal who she was. She thought that he probably wouldn't want to meet her, if he knew who she was. She still didn't know whether he was going to show up. Maybe he didn't know if she would show up. All the thinking she was doing made her feel even more nervous.

About ten minutes later, she found herself slowly nearing the meeting point. It reminded her of when she was going to tell James that she was leaving. She sighed softly, looking around her. All the people, they rushed around without any thoughts about anyone except themselves. She couldn't say that she wasn't like that on most days. She just hoped and prayed that James would still accept her.

She found herself standing outside of the door. She looked in the window and immediately spotted James sitting at a table near the back of the room. It reminded her so much of the day she left. She took in another deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. Slowly she pushed the door open and walked inside.

James looked up, hearing the sound of the bell again. Immediately he saw Jessie walking into the room. He nearly gasped, extremely shocked to see her there. He sat up a little straighter in his chair and let his hands rest on his lap. He didn't want Jessie to see how nervous he'd suddenly become.

/_I have a problem that I cannot explain,  
I have no reason why it should've been so plain,  
Have no questions but I sure have excuse,  
I lack the reason why I should be so confused._/

Jessie slowly made her away across the room, pausing to let people walk by her. The room was small and somewhat crowded, mostly with people just trying to get a quick lunch. After a moment, Jessie came to the table where James sat. He didn't move, he just stared at her, obviously shocked by her presence there.

Jessie slowly pulled out a chair and slowly sat down. They sat there, staring at each other for a few moments. Suddenly James snapped out of it, shaking his head slightly.

"Would you like something to drink? Something to eat?" he offered.

"Coffee would be fine," she said, smiling slightly. She watched James stand and walk to the counter to get her a drink. A moment later he returned with a cup. He handed it to her, smiling slightly.

"Thank you," she said softly.

James sat down in his seat again, watched as she took a sip of the coffee. He felt so strange, sitting there across the table from her. It had been _so _long. His life had taken a different direction, one that he wasn't sure he could explain to her. Her presence there confused him greatly. He had assumed she'd moved on with her life. He knew that he sure had.

/_I know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
I don't know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
Around you._/

Jessie glanced up from the warm cup she was holding in her hands. She smiled at James.

"How has your life been?" she asked cautiously. She didn't want to upset him or make him angry with her already.

"Busy," he started, "I got a job at a big business. It keeps me busy. What about you?"

Jessie shrugged slightly, "I've been busy also. I got a big job, thanks to a friend. I took some time off though, I wanted to come and find you."

James was slightly shocked by that. "Why did you want to come and find me? I thought you were done with me."

"No, I wasn't done with you! I wanted to do something different, I wanted to go somewhere else and see what kind of life I could make!" Jessie said, letting more emotion than she wanted slip into her voice.

"You could've made it clearer. You made it seem like you were angry with me or something! You just left! How was I supposed to know that you were planning on coming back!" He didn't realize he was getting so angry.

"I can't believe we're fighting," Jessie said softly, looking away from him. "It's been so long, I thought we would be happy to see each other."

"I _am _happy to see you! I just can't believe you're sitting here in front of me, talking like nothing has changed! I don't even know how to feel about you anymore. I don't know how to really feel about you being here right now. I thought there was something really special between us but after you left, I felt like I was the only one who felt that. I thought I loved you and you didn't love me!" James exclaimed.

/_Left a message but it ain't a bit of use,  
I have some pictures, the wild might be the deuce,  
Today you saw, you saw me, you explained,  
Playin the show and running down the plane._/

"Are you serious!" Jessie exclaimed. "I felt so horrible about what I did, that's why I worked to hard to find you!"

"If you were going to feel horrible, you shouldn't have left in the first place," James said, a bit softer.

"James, I didn't know what I was doing. I cared so much about you before I left. I guess I thought I was doing us both a favor. I don't know," she said, looking down at the table. "Maybe I should just leave. I don't think this was a good idea."

"No. Please, don't. Let's just talk, okay? Umm," James thought for a moment, "do you have your own place or are you staying with someone?"

Jessie stayed quiet for a moment, just studying him for a moment. "I live alone. I stayed with my friend for a while until I was able to get enough money to buy my own place. I've been staying there alone. What about you?"

"Well, Meowth is still around. And-" he stopped, deciding he wasn't ready to say that. "Well you know how Meowth is. Having him around can be like have a house full of people."

Jessie smiled slightly, "Is Meowth doing well? Does he ever talk about me?" She felt slightly foolish for even asking that question.

"Meowth is doing very well. He's enjoying the new house I moved in to. He used to talk about you, after you left. Now he doesn't so much. I guess he's like me, he decided you were really gone for good."

"I sent that message, I wasn't sure it would do any good though," she said, feeling even more stupid. Of course he'd know she sent the message.

"I thought for a long time, trying to decide whether I wanted to come or not. I felt a bit uneasy, I thought that it might be someone wanting to do harm to me. I guess I can be a bit paranoid," he said.

"No, I understand. I just thought that if I put my name on it, you might not show up. I wanted to be sure that I could get you here. I have missed you so much. I decided to look for you one night; I was lying outside looking at the stars. I remembered that time you told me about wishing on stars. I realized I truly missed you. I've spent too much time just talking to your picture," she laughed softly. She knew that sounded stupid.

"To be honest, I missed you a lot too. I moped around the house, Meowth was about to give up on me. I kept your picture on my desk where I worked, I almost got fired because sometimes I'd spend more time looking at your picture than I would doing my work. Finally, I figured that I should just give up. I thought you were done and happy with your new life. A while back, it's been months, I had a realistic dream about you. I was about to give in and look for you but I decided that I'd rather not push myself back into your life. So I left you alone. Then I just kept working and going out. I finally got over you." James felt kind of bad for being so honest but he knew that the worst was yet to come.

"Seeing you today has made me feel better," Jessie paused for a moment, "I was hoping that if you still wanted me around, I could move back here. I would quit my job to move back here to be with you."

/_I know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
I don't know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
I know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
I don't know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
Around you._/

James frowned, now feeling the pressure to tell all the truth. Could he continue to keep it from her? Not if she wanted to be this serious.

"No, don't do that, Jessie," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"You don't want me around anymore? What about all that about caring and having something special? Don't you understand? I feel that way too! I was just too stupid to realize it sooner!" Jessie was getting upset again. She just wanted him to accept her again.

"Seeing you here today has been great. I thought I would never see you again and if I did, it would probably be on TV after you did something amazing. Seeing you makes me feel such a confused mess of emotions. I'm happy and sad. Angry and disappointed. I feel like I know exactly how I feel about you being here and yet I feel like I have no idea," he stopped talking for a moment.

Jessie shook her head slowly. "I don't understand? Why don't you want me to come back? We could be happy again. I know it might take a while for you to completely forgive me but we could be happy," she said, starting to feel tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't want to cry, she just wanted him to understand.

James shook his head, standing up. Jessie stood too, wanting to stop him from walking out on her, if that was what he was going to do.

"You just _don't _understand!" he exclaimed. "I would _love _for you to be here! I would _love _to pick up where we left off. That would be wonderful, that make me happy. But we just _can't_!"

"Why!" Jessie cried, not being able to hold back the tears she was fighting.

James held up his left hand, revealing a shiny gold band around his ring finger. "Because Jessie, I'm married!"

Jessie stumbled back a few steps, completely shocked. She could still feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. She shook her head, not wanting to believe it. "You-you can't be!" she whispered in complete disbelief.

"You waited too long, Jessie. I'm sorry," he said, turning away quickly, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. He quickly walked across the room and out the door, leaving Jessie standing there alone.

/_I know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
I don't know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
I know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
I don't know, how I feel when I'm around you,  
Around you, Around you, Around you..._/


	4. Changes

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon, does this surprise you?

**Author Note: **Here's the last chapter of my fic. This chapter isn't a songfic, for some reason. I just couldn't find a song that worked for me. So here's what you get. Also, there will be things repeated from the last chapter… so don't get too frustrated, please!

* * *

Jessie woke up suddenly, sitting up immediately. She was breathing heavy for a moment, as the dream she'd just had continued to roll through her mind. As she slowly realized that it had just been a dream, she shook her head, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

She slowly turned and put her feet on the floor, still not shaking the feelings of the dream. She stood and walked into the bathroom, flipping on the light as she walked in. She sighed softly and looked in the mirror. The last words of her dream still floated through her mind.

"_You waited too long, Jessie, I'm sorry." _

Jessie shook her head, turning on the sink. She splashed some cool water on her face. She knew she was afraid of being too late but that was horrible. She was already nervous about going to see James again but that dream just made it worse. What if he had really moved on and found someone else? She never even thought about it when she started looking for him. She sighed again, turning away from the mirror.

James walked down the street, looking around as he walked. He slowly pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, just to make sure he was going in the right direction. '_James, you probably don't remember me or you don't want to remember me but I want to meet you. If you're interested, meet me at the Sun Rise coffee shop, in one week at 1:30 PM.' _

He looked up at the street sign, taking note that he was going in the right direction. Then he took a moment to think about when he had received the message.

_James walked into the house, late in the evening. _

"'_Ya got a message," Meowth said, motioning to a paper lying on the table. _

"_What is it? Who is it from?" James asked._

"_I dunno. I jus' took it from the message guy and I didn't read it," he said, shrugging slightly._

"_Okay," James said, picking up the paper. He read over it and then looked at Meowth._

"_Are you sure that the person who brought this didn't tell who it was from?" he asked. _

"_Yes. He jus' said it was for you. He said dat the sender wanted to remain unknown." Meowth said._

"_Well, it's from someone who wants to meet me at that coffee shop a few streets over. I wonder if I should go." James said, still looking at the paper._

"_If 'ya wanna. Maybe it'll be good for 'ya." Meowth said._

"_What if it's a trick? You know, people like to play tricks. What if it's someone who knew me from the past and wants to kill me or something?" he asked, starting to think twice about going._

"_C'mon James. Stop bein' paranoid. Jus' go, it's not gonna hurt you." Meowth said, growing tired of the conversation. "'Sides 'ya never know, maybe it will be Jessie."_

"_What? Jessie? Why would you say that?" James asked feeling a little frustrated. _

_Meowth shrugged slightly. "I dunno, jus' thought maybe she might be missin' you." _

"_That's impossible! I talked to her old friend, just a couple of weeks ago. I knew someone at work who knew her friend and got me in contact with the girl. I asked her about Jessie and she said that she had moved in with some guy and they seemed pretty serious. She wouldn't come looking for me," he said, walking away._

James walked around the corner and saw the coffee shop just a few buildings down from him. He glanced at his watch.

"I'm an hour early," he muttered to himself, wondering if he should turn around and go home. Then he shook his head. He really wanted to know who was going to be coming to see him.

A few streets over, Jessie stood nervously outside the elevator, waiting for it to come up to her level. What if James really had gotten married? Would she be able to handle it if he did? What if he was angry with her and just walked away, like he did in her dream? She sighed softly as the elevator door opened. She stepped inside.

"Hold the door please!" Jessie heard a woman call out. She paused a second, waiting for the woman to get onto the elevator with her.

"Thank you," the woman said, smiling.

"You're welcome." Jessie replied.

"You on vacation here?" the woman asked.

"Not really. I mean I guess I am," Jessie paused, smiling. "I'm sorry. Yes, I guess I could call this a vacation. I'm here to visit an old friend. At least I hope I will be."

"Why do you put it like that?" the woman asked.

"Well, he doesn't know he's going to be meeting me. I sent him a message, telling him where to meet me, when, and what time. The only thing I left out was who I am. I'm afraid that if he knew, he'd not show up." Jessie said quietly.

"Ah, well I'm sure he'll show up. It seems something else is bothering you though," the woman said quietly.

Jessie nodded slightly. "Yes, there is. See, over a year and a half ago, I left him. I told him I was leaving town to pursue my dreams and the things I wanted. He didn't want me to go but I didn't give him a chance to say anything else. Over this time I've been away, I've been dreaming about him and just missing him. So I decided to come back to find him except last night I had a really horrible dream. I dreamt that I had stayed away too long and he got married to someone else."

"That's silly, girl. Your only problem is that you're in love and you think you've passed that up. If it's real love, love that's meant to be, you will not have missed your chance!" the woman said.

Jessie was about to say something else when the elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened. She watched the woman leave the elevator quickly. She thought for a moment about what the woman had said before she stepped out of the elevator too.

James sighed, watching about the hundredth person come into the shop. He thought he would go insane, just waiting.

"I shouldn't have shown up so early," he muttered to himself.

Jessie walked down the street, trying to find comfort in the breeze that was blowing. It was a bright and sunny day. That had to prove everything would work out. Then again, it was bright and sunny in her dream too. She sighed softly. She had to forget about the dream. Things were never like dreams.

She quickly walked the streets that separated her from the coffee shop. As she got closer to her destination, she took a moment to glance at her watch. It was only 1:15. She knew she still had fifteen minutes to get there and she could see the sign for the shop. She almost wanted to turn and leave. What good would it do to go through the same thing that happened in her dream?

"Stop thinking like that!" she scolded herself aloud, causing a few passing people to give her a weird look. She ignored the looks and started walking again.

She stopped a building away from the coffee shop. She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves and straightened out her clothes a bit. She looked at her reflection in the glass of the building she was standing in front of.

"You're going to be just fine," she whispered to her reflection. She slowly started walking again.

James looked at his watch again. It was almost 1:25.

"Just five more minutes to go," he mumbled to himself. He still wondered who might be coming to meet him. He wondered if the person was someone he knew or someone who just knew him. Suddenly another thought took him over. What if it was someone from work, someone who wanted to give him a promotion or something? He almost began to panic. He wanted to get up and leave.

Before he got the chance, though, he heard the bell on the door ring again, indicating that someone was coming in. He looked up from his table, almost falling out of his chair. There, walking into the coffee shop, was Jessie.

Jessie looked around the room, noticing James sitting at a table on the right side of the room, near the front. She slowly started walking over toward the table, slightly relieved to see that he had actually shown up. As she slowly walked up to the table, he stood.

"Jessie!" he said, sounding a bit more excited and shocked than he really meant to.

"I'm glad you showed up," she said.

James quickly walked over to the other side of the table, pulling out a chair for her. She smiled, sitting down on the chair he'd pulled out. He quickly moved back to his chair. That seemed more like the day she'd left. The thoughts of her dream was slowly melting away.

"What are you doing back here?" James asked.

"I wanted to see you again." Jessie said, starting to feel a little nervous.

James smiled. "I'm glad it was you. I was starting to worry about all the various people might be coming to see me."

"Yeah. It's just me," she said.

"You want something to drink? Maybe you want something to eat? Did you get a chance to eat anything yet?" James found himself rambling slightly.

"Um.. just something to drink, I guess," she said, shrugging slightly.

"Okay. I'll get it," he said, starting to stand.

"No! I'll get it." Jessie said, remembering that part of her dream.

"It's okay, really. I'll be right back." James got up and walked across the room.

Jessie watched him for a moment, hoping that this was not a sign that her dream would come true. She hadn't been able to force herself to look at his ring finger, terrified that she would see a ring there.

A moment later James returned to the table, sitting down the coffee. He slid it over to her. Jessie picked it up and took a few sips of it. They sat in silence for a few moments, both going over thoughts in their minds.

James kept thinking about his discussion with Meowth, how he'd heard about Jessie moving in with a guy. They seemed serious.

Jessie noticed James was just staring at her, as if trying to read her mind.

"How have you been?" Jessie finally asked, trying to get something started.

"I've been busy. I've been working a lot. How about you?" James asked.

"I've been busy too. I got a job, a nice job. Kind of boring though," she replied.

"That sounds nice. My job isn't always fun either. I've just been trying to make it through," he said.

Jessie shrugged slightly, looking away. "I noticed that you moved, when I was looking for you."

"Yeah. I lived in that same house for a while after I got my job. Then I moved," he said.

"Living with anyone?" Jessie finally decided to ask.

"Just Meowth. He said you'd be the one I was going to meet here," he said, laughing.

Jessie smiled a bit. "He always knew," she said.

"Yeah. Well, what about you? You live with anyone?" James was terrified to hear the answer.

"No. I'm just staying by myself. After I left here, I stayed with a friend. Then I saved money and moved into a place of my own. I've been by myself since I moved out with my friend," she said.

That shocked James. Her friend must've lied to him.

"Did you ever say anything about me to your friend?" he asked.

"Yeah," she paused, smiling a bit, "I talked about you a lot. Many times she told me to just come back and be with you. I told her that you probably moved on by then. Then she told me that if you moved on, then I should move on too. I knew I couldn't though. I cared too much about you."

"A while back, I called your friend. Someone I work with knows her and he got me connected with her. She told me you moved in with some guy," he said, feeling bad for saying it.

Jessie thought for a moment and then stood up. James watched her stand, feeling even worse. He was sure she was mad at him. She was going to leave, just like before.

"It's such a nice day out. Let's go walking instead of staying cramped up in this place," she said, motioning toward the door.

James got up, following her as she led him to the door. He was still nervous; she hadn't said anything about what he said.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. The only sounds were people passing by and cars. Jessie let what James had said play over in her mind.

"I did move in with a guy for a little while." Jessie said suddenly. "I was really lonely and I was sure you'd moved on. I lived with him for about a week and I told him that there was no way. I couldn't keep it up. You're the only one I've ever cared about." She took in a breath, expecting him to either be mad or just come out and tell her that he was taken. She was surprised when he didn't say anything.

They continued to walk in silence. She would steal a glance at him every so often, just trying to figure out what he was thinking. She just wanted to say _something_.

"Well, it's okay," he finally said, "when I saw you walk through that door, I figured that you probably weren't living with him anymore. Maybe you got married to him."

"No. Like I said, I didn't like him. I was just lonely. It wasn't too long after that that I decided to start looking for you," she paused, looking at him. "I was looking at the stars one night. I remembered what you said about wishing on stars, it was then that I decided that I wanted to find you again."

He looked at her. "There were many times I thought about looking for you. I knew it was pointless."

She looked away again, to make sure she wasn't going to run into anyone. "I want to move back here, I want to quit my job and move back here with you. I've missed you too much to stay away anymore," she said quickly.

"No!" James said quickly.

Jessie stopped walking. He took a few steps ahead of her and then stopped, turning to face her.

"What do you mean no?" she asked, feeling her heart sink. Her dream was about to come true, she just knew it.

He walked back to her, taking her hands. "I want to quit my job and move in with you. I'm tired of this place. You were right when you left there is nothing here. Not for you and not for me. I want to come and live with you."

It took a moment for what he said to sink in. She was so sure he was about to tell her he was married. She suddenly jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She couldn't help but start crying.

"I was so sure you were about to tell me you were married! I had a horrible dream last night! I dreamt that I came to see you and you told me you were married," she cried.

He held her out away from him, to look her over for a moment. "Are you crazy? You're the only person on this planet I'd marry!" he said, smiling.

She leaned in to hug him again. "You have no idea how happy this makes me!" she whispered.

"Yes I do. I feel the same way you're feeling right now." He forced her to take a step back. "Come on," he said, taking her hand, "let's go back to my place."

She gladly took his hand, smiling at him. "Yeah, let's go."

They walked down the street together, heading off to what both hoped would be a bright future.

* * *

**Author Note: **Well, that's all. I was planning on stopping it there. I could almost see another chapter. I'm not sure, I'm planning on stopping it here, just in case I don't get inspired to move on. Sorry about the ending,I guess it's just the typical 'happy ever after' stuff. So yeah, surprised that the last chapter was just a dream? That's how I've been planning it from the end of the first chapter. I thought that it might be kind of annoying, but that could also give me room to make this sad and make it so that they didn't end up together. Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this fic, even a little. I know my only reviewer liked it. Anyway, review if you want. Thanks. 


	5. A different ending

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon or "The One I Love" which is by The Rasmus.

**Author Note: **This is an alternative ending, making it so that chapter 3 wasn't a dream. It's just a general thought I had and I wanted to write it out. So chapter 4 is really the ending, this is just another way I thought I could end it.

* * *

Jessie stood by the table where James had left her. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, just trying to understand what had happened. Tears continued to fall down her face. She wasn't sure what to do, so she turned away from the table. She walked out of the building, slowly heading back to the place she had been staying.

/_Haven't slept in a week  
__My bed has become my coffin  
__Cannot breathe, cannot speak  
__My head's like a bomb, still waiting  
__Take my heart and take my soul  
__I don't them anymore_/

Jessie laid in bed. It had been a week since James had told her he was married. She hadn't had the strength to even leave town. She decided it didn't matter how long she stayed there, it wasn't like James was going to care. He'd probably already forgotten about their meeting.

Out of nowhere, there was a knock at the door. Jessie thought about ignoring it but whoever was knocking was persistent. She slowly drug herself out of bed and walked to the door. She unlocked it and slowly opened it. A man who worked in the building was standing there.

"Yes?" she asked.

"There's a message for you. Apparently your phone doesn't work and so there was a message left for you at the desk." The man said, handing her a piece of paper.

Jessie slowly took the paper from him. "Thank you," she said softly.

He smiled and nodded. "You're welcome. Have a good day ma'am," he said, walking away.

Jessie slowly shut the door, locking it up again. She slowly walked across the room and sat down in the chair by the window. She unfolded the note and held it out to read it.

'_Jessie,_

_I know our meeting the other day did not end well. I'm sorry about that. Everything was just happening so fast and I got nervous. I'd like to meet again. How about at the park we used to meet at all the time? Be there in two days at 3:30. I'll be where we always met. I really think we need to talk and I hope that you will come._

_-James_'

For a long time Jessie just sat there, staring at the note. James wanted to talk now? How about when she was ready to talk? She sighed softly, pushing herself up from the chair.

"I guess I'll go. I don't know why, though. It's not going to change the fact that… that-" she stopped, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "That he's married," she finally finished. She laid the note down on the table next to her bed and then laid back down in bed. She would have to think about it. She wasn't sure she could handle getting hurt again.

/_The one I love  
__Is striking me down on my knees  
__Drowning me in my dreams  
__Over and over again  
__Dragging me under_/

Two days later, Jessie was walking toward the park where she was to meet James. She was nervous, probably more nervous than the first day she went to meet him. She didn't want to do it, she wanted to turn back. It wasn't like James was going to tell her that he was leaving his wife for her. She wasn't sure she would even be able to handle that.

James was standing by a tree in the park, watching the various people passing by. He was hoping that Jessie would show up. He hoped she'd gotten his message. He sighed softly, leaning his head against the tree. He knew that this wouldn't turn out very well, he could already feel it. He knew Jessie was very hurt and she never seemed to handle being hurt very well.

Jessie stood back, watching James for a moment. He seemed to be lost in thought. She just watched him, remembering all the times she'd had with him. All the times that she imagined she'd be the one with him. Now he haunted her in her dreams and she got more depressed thinking about it. Every morning became a new type of torture for her, as she'd be remembering her dreams. Slowly she began to walk up to James. It didn't take long for her to reach him.

"Hello James," she said, stopping a few feet away from him.

"Jessie," he said, sounding relieved that she had showed.

"You said you wanted to talk to me, so let's talk," she didn't seem to be interested in much discussion.

James nodded slowly. He turned to face her, trying to look her in the eyes but she looked away from him. She knew that if she caught his eyes, even for a moment, she wouldn't be able to stay strong.

"Just talk," she demanded.

"The other day didn't go so well. I'm sorry. I should have just told you from the beginning that I'm married. Like I said the other day, I would love for you to be able to come back here and stay… but I know you won't now. You know that if you did come back, we couldn't be anything but friends." James said, trying to keep his voice strong and steady.

"Yes, I know." Jessie said. She was already starting to feel tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't really want to cry _yet_.

"I know it doesn't mean a lot now but I really did care a lot about you. I wanted us to be together, I wanted us to get married. I guess things change," he said.

"Of course things change. Especially when you give up on someone you love," she said.

"I didn't want to give up on you! I thought you moved on with your life! How was I to know that you were thinking about coming back to me?" he exclaimed, starting to feel a bit frustrated.

"I don't know. I'm sorry. Why did you bring me here today?" she asked, wanting to get to the point.

"I brought you here because I thought we should just talk. Talk about what happened the other day and I don't know." James said, starting to wonder if he'd made a mistake by asking her to come there.

"I was hoping that you brought me here so you could tell me that you're going to leave your wife," she said, feeling somewhat wrong for saying that.

"No. I couldn't do that," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"She's pregnant. I wouldn't leave her now," he said, crossing his arms.

"I see." Jessie turned away, now just trying to hide her tears.

"Don't just walk away again." James said.

"What's left to say? You're married and she's going to have your child. You're not going to leave her. There's nothing left to say. The other day was bad; we weren't really ready for what the other had to say. We know that now. Since you're happy in your marriage, there's no place for me. I'll just go back home and continue working," she said, wishing it were really going to be that simple.

"I guess you're right, Jessie. I'm sorry that I asked you to come here. I just thought I should explain but I guess I don't need to explain anything to you. You seem to think you've got it all figured out. As if it's not possible to love two people at the same time. The way I feel for you and the way I feel for her are two completely different feelings. I _love _you, I've known you forever. I love my wife in a different way. I guess you don't want to hear that though," he said.

"Not really, considering it doesn't matter now. The feelings don't matter anymore. I just need to leave, I need to go back home. I need to figure things out so I can continue on with my life. I'm not going to hold on to someone who can't have me around," she started to walk away.

"Wait a minute Jessie!" James called out, causing her to stop.

"What!" she growled, turning back to face him.

"Here," he paused, looking around the other side of the tree. A second later, Meowth came walking around the tree. "Take Meowth with you."

"…What?" Jessie couldn't believe it. "You're going to send me off with Meowth?" She wasn't angry, per se, just a little shocked.

"Yes. Meowth was a part of the team, since you're alone… I want you to have him with you. He kept me company all the time after you left," he said.

"I wanna come with you Jess." Meowth said, walking over to her. She looked down at him, turning away.

"Goodbye James," she said, walking away.

Meowth looked back at James for a moment. James nodded for him to go. Meowth stood there for a moment more before turning to follow Jessie.

/_Hypnotized by the night  
__Silently rising beside me  
__Emptiness, nothingness  
__Is burning a hole inside me  
__Take my faith and take my pride  
__I don't need them anymore_/

It was a week and a half later and Jessie had finally returned home. She was sitting out on her back porch, still unable to sleep. After that day of meeting James in the park, she had been unable to sleep very well. She just felt empty and alone. She glanced up at the sky, looking at the stars.

"Thanks for helping me out," she whispered miserably. Soon after she said that, clouds started covering the stars. She sighed softly, leaning back in her chair.

Meowth silently made his way out onto the porch. He watched Jessie sitting in the chair, just staring at the sky. He felt sort of bad for her. He walked over to the chair and sat down next to it.

"Hi Meowth." Jessie said quietly.

Meowth didn't say anything, he just looked at her. She looked down at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothin'. I'm jus' wonderin' if you're ever gonna be okay," he said.

She sighed softly, standing up. "If you're just going to be like that, then I don't want to talk." She walked away, leaving Meowth sitting out on the porch alone.

/_The bed has become my chapel of stone  
__A garden of darkness to where I'm thrown  
__So take my life, I don't need it anymore_/

Jessie lay in bed, staring at her ceiling. She had been thinking a lot. She was still extremely hurt by her meeting with James but she _had _to move on. Her life there had been fine before she met with James again but now it just wasn't working for her. She thought her house was big enough but after she brought Meowth in, she was starting to feel crowded. She wasn't sure why but it seemed to be happening anyway. There was only one thing she could do.

/_The one I love  
__Is striking me down on my knees  
__Drowning me in my dreams  
__Over and over again  
__Dragging me under/_

It was three and a half years later. James was walking down the street, glancing at the house numbers and every so often glancing at the small slip of paper he held in his hand. He finally found the house number that matched the one on the slip of paper. He slowly made his way up to the door. He took in a breath to calm his nerves and then he knocked on the door. After a moment, an older woman opened the door.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, um, is there was woman by the name of Jessie here?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry," she said, looking kind of sad.

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry. Maybe she was the one who sold us this house. That was almost two years ago," she said.

He frowned slightly. "Yes, probably. Thank you for the help," he said, turning away.

"Wait!" the woman said. He turned back.

"If you wait a moment, I can get you a number of someone who might know where she went," she said. He nodded, pausing on the steps.

A few moments later the woman returned to the door with a small business-like card. "Here," she said, handing it to him, "that was the one who worked with her to sell us this house. She might be able to help you."

James took the card, nodding. "Thank you for your help," he said.

The next day James went searching again. He started with the real estate office that was on the card. The only information he got from them was a name and a number of one of Jessie's old friends. So, that was the next place he was searching for.

It took him almost all day to track down the house that she lived in, since she lived on the other side of town. When he found the house, he realized he wasn't in a hurry to go knock on the door.

"She probably won't know where she went either," he whispered to himself. After standing on the sidewalk in front of the house for a few minutes, he decided he should go find out.

He walked up the stairs and up to the door. He rang the doorbell and waited until the door opened. A woman stood there, looking rather confused that someone would be at her door.

"Do you need… wait! You look familiar," she paused. "Do I know you?"

"My name is James. Were you or are you friends with Jessie?" he asked.

"Yeah.. I was friends with her. Why?" she asked.

"I was looking for her. Do you know where she moved?" he asked.

"No, I don't. About two years ago, she just packed up and moved. She said something about how she wasn't getting anywhere in this town and she wanted to get away from the memories. So she left. I haven't heard from her since. Why? You're the reason she left anyway, aren't you?" she asked.

I nodded. "I got married but about a year and a half ago, the woman I married left me. It took me a while to get everything straightened out… but I wanted to find Jessie again. Jessie is part of the reason why my wife left me," he paused for a moment. "Anyway. You're sure you don't know where she went?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'd tell you if I did. Like I said, she just up and left. She didn't tell anyone where she was going. For a while I thought that she was going crazy. I don't know. I just hope she's happy wherever she went," she said, sighing softly.

James nodded. "Well, thank you for your time. I'm sorry I bothered you."

"No, no. If I ever hear anything from her, I'll tell her you were looking for her. Maybe you should give me your number or address or something so I can get a hold of you in case I hear from her," she said.

"That's okay," he said, smiling. "She's gone now. I hurt her when I saw her last and now she's moved on. I'll just go back home. Maybe someday she'll come back looking for me… but I won't count on it."

He turned away, walking down off the porch. He started walking down the sidewalk again, looking up to the sky. Off in the distance the sun was slowly sinking out of sight. He paused a second, just watching for a moment.

"I don't know where you went, Jessie, but wherever you are… I just want you to know… I still love you," he said softly.

"Oh really? I didn't know you still felt that way." James gasped softly, turning to see who was speaking. He was shocked to see Jessie standing there.

"Jessie?" he asked.

"Yeah. I heard you were in town," she said, walking closer to him. Meowth followed closely behind her.

"How'd you know?" he asked.

"An old friend saw you around and she called me to tell me because she thought that I'd be interested," she said.

"Oh," he said.

"Yeah. So what do you want? You want to tell me more about your wife? Maybe something amazing happened? Well, I just want you to know… I'm not interested if that's what you're going to talk about," she said.

"No that's not what I have to say. My wife left me a year and a half ago. So I came looking for you," he said.

"I see. So why'd she leave you?" she asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it. But I just want you to know that yes, I did care about her… but I care more about you," he said.

Jessie smiled slightly. "How do you know I'm not married?" she asked.

James looked down at Meowth who had been standing silently next to Jessie and then back up at her. "Are you married?" he asked.

Jessie smiled slightly, looking away from him. "I think you would deserve it if I told you I was married and just walked away," she said, trying to hide her smile from him.

James wasn't so amused though, he frowned. He looked her over again, trying to figure out whether she was lying or not.

"You're right, I would deserve that," he said.

She finally looked at him, still smiling. "Don't be stupid. You should know better than that. I don't go off doing things I don't want to do. I moved about an hour away, into a slightly bigger house. It's just been me and Meowth, also occasionally I'll have friends over." She shrugged.

James smiled, walking up to her. He hugged her, glad that she was just joking with him. "I want to move in with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he said.

Jessie pushed away from him, taking a few steps away. "I don't know about that. What about your ex-wife? I thought she was going to have a child back when I came to find you. Don't you have to take care of that?" she asked.

He sighed quietly, looking down at the ground. "She lied. She found out that you were looking for me, somehow, and she was afraid I was going to leave her. So, she told me she was pregnant and she knew I wouldn't leave her. After you'd left and she was sure you were gone, she told me it was a lie. Actually, she didn't tell me it was a lie. She told me that the doctor told her that they'd made a mistake. She told me the name of the doctor she went to and I went to talk to him and he told me that she'd never been there. It was after that that I seemed to be thinking more and more about you and finally she said she had enough and left," he explained.

"I see," she said quietly.

"Yeah, so I don't have to take care of anything. I had to pay her a large amount of money and she said she'd leave me alone," he said.

Jessie nodded. "Well, if that's how it is… then," she held her hand out to him, "let's go."

He slowly took her hand and the three of them walked away.

* * *

**Author Note: **Grr! This chapter wasn't supposed to end like this. Actually it was supposed to stop where James was looking at the sunset and saying his little piece about loving Jessie. Then I was going to say they never saw each other again… but it didn't work like that. When I was in class this morning, my professor was talking about investments and getting paid on commission compared to getting paid on a salary and he said something about having a house and a little girl and out of no where I thought, I can't end this chapter like that! So I guess this is just another happy ending, I really didn't mean for it to end this way. 


End file.
